THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The station house officers (SHOs) and sub-inspectors of Thiruvananthapuram city police will have to appear for a 90-minute ‘knowledge updation test’ on Saturday to assess their understanding of the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and other relevant rules and protocols that ought to be duly followed by the officers.
The decision to hold the exam, according to City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay, was taken on the basis of a communique from the Police Headquarters.
“The letter from the Police Headquarters said many SHOs and SIs had poor knowledge of the IPC and CrPC. Hence, we are conducting the exam to check where they stand viz-a-viz their subject knowledge,” Balram Upadhyay said.
However, the decision has not gone down well with a section of officers, who alleged that holding an exam without conducting prior classes and in-house courses does not have a precedence in the department.
“Classes should be conducted before holding the exam. For SHOs and SIs, it has not happened and that’s a diversion from the usual practice,” said an officer, who did not want to be named. He said all SHOs and SIs keeping away from their duty for about 90 minutes could result in deterioration of the law and order in the city.
Balram Upadhyay, however, said there is nothing unusual in holding the exam as it’s being conducted with an intention of finding out where the officers stand in terms of their knowledge of basic laws and criminal procedures.
“Better understanding of law and procedures will help the officers serve the force and the public better. This programme is being done with a positive mindset. There could be people, who don’t want to see things with a positive frame of mind, and they could be against the exam,” he said.
As per the circular sent to the officers concerned, the exam will have objective and descriptive questions. Objective-type questions will carry 20 marks, while descriptive-type questions will be for 30 marks. The exam will be in English and could possibly have questions from 24 topics, including Pocso Act, Kerala Police Act and IT Act.